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More than 30,000 people in the UK were infected with HIV and Hepatitis C after being given contaminated blood products in the 1970s and 1980s. A public inquiry into what has been called the biggest treatment disaster in NHS history will announce its findings in May. Victims are campaigning for compensation. Two main groups of NHS patients were caught up in the scandal. Firstly, haemophiliacs - and those with similar disorders - who have a rare genetic condition which means their blood does not clot properly, external. People with haemophilia A have a shortage of a clotting agent known as...

A pilot study funded by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that could potentially lead to changes to blood donor eligibility for men who have sex with men is underway and seeking participants in 8 U.S. cities. The ADVANCE study , which stands for Assessing Donor Variability And New Concepts in Eligibility, is focused on evaluating alternatives to the FDA's blood donor time-based deferral policy for men who have sex with men (MSM). ... The ADVANCE study is a first step in providing data that will help the FDA determine if a blood donor history questionnaire (DHQ) based on...

A gay man who repeatedly gave blood after lying about having sex with other men is suing Canadian Blood Services, alleging the questionnaire used by the agency to screen out unsuitable donors is a violation of his charter rights. Kyle Freeman alleges the blood collection agency violates his charter rights and those of other gay men by asking male donors on the questionnaire whether they had ever had sex with a man, even once, since 1977.

Canada Red Cross Guilty in Blood Scandal May 30, 9:23 PM (ET)HAMILTON, Ontario (AP) The Canadian Red Cross pleaded guilty Monday to distributing blood tainted with HIV and hepatitis C in the 1980s, and was fined $4,000 in the public health disaster that infected thousands. More than 1,000 Canadians contracted blood-borne HIV and up to 20,000 others were infected with hepatitis C after receiving the tainted blood products. About 3,000 people had died by 1997 and the death toll has grown, but recent estimates were not available. "(The) Canadian Red Cross Society is deeply sorry for the injury and death...

<p>MONMOUTH, Ore. — The American Red Cross may soon be banned from holding blood drives on one university campus because the organization prohibits some gay men from donating blood.</p> <p>"We're looking at the practices of the Red Cross — whether they are discriminatory, and if they are, how it relates back to our policy," said Gary Dukes, vice president of student affairs at Western Oregon University.</p>